top leadership [decided] that the adversary had somehow infiltrated our ranks and there was a spiritual reason that this accident occurred.
I do remember that, and I don't doubt that both of those propositions were true, but I don't think that the Adversary infiltrated our ranks in the person of poor little A*. The infiltration was a lot more widespread than that - it was freakin' systemic throughout TWI as far as I can see.
God bless, babe.
If I can help you ferret through any of this, I'll be glad to, but it is pretty comprehensive, pretty much what this website is all about - only from a spiritual persective. I'm not pretending that I have it all together in my head.
I remember riding with George Jess to the Advanced Class at HQ in '72, and he brought up Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And he asked me what I thought the Word meant when it said "high places."
Somewhere I had heard that it meant "from on high," but even as I said it, I thought my own answer was extremely unsatisfying. It doesn't mean a heck of a lot that God - or anybody - would take the time to insert those words.
He said it meant the upper echelons in the ministry - that the spiritual fight was among the ruling gift ministries in the body. We're all in this fight, but his remarks resonate more the longer I live. How high do you want to go - there is a serious fight going on there. That's where TWI lost it.
"PDSTRO had a line in one of their songs that went, "The nakedness is so real; keep your thoughts on love."
I remember riding with George Jess to the Advanced Class at HQ in '72, and he brought up Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And he asked me what I thought the Word meant when it said "high places."
Somewhere I had heard that it meant "from on high," but even as I said it, I thought my own answer was extremely unsatisfying. It doesn't mean a heck of a lot that God - or anybody - would take the time to insert those words.
He said it meant the upper echelons in the ministry - that the spiritual fight was among the ruling gift ministries in the body. We're all in this fight, but his remarks resonate more the longer I live. How high do you want to go - there is a serious fight going on there. That's where TWI lost it.
That was incredibly insightful of George Jess, Tom. That "resonates" with me as true as well.
Was Jess one of the original trustees - or am I confusing him with someone else?
Jess was the first Way Corps Director, Ermal Owens may be who you're thinking of
I thought it was one of those "higher up" names I've heard in the past. One who was in a position to know (almost twi version of "Deep Throat", lol). Jess sounded like he had his act together, in contrast to that later "Corp. director".
He said it meant the upper echelons in the ministry - that the spiritual fight was among the ruling gift ministries in the body.
This makes a lot of sense to me. See, this is the kind of story that makes me wonder, there were so many wonderful people in TWI who truly loved God and his Word. How did things get so "****ered" up. Ego? of the upper echelon? It had to be, because I personally believe that Doc Vic (praise be his name) started out as truly wanting to be a teacher of "the truth" but somewhere along the way, the "ego" and "adulation" of his followers caused him to go astray. Perhaps, some of this is "our collective" fault for putting so much of our faith (and/or) believing in a man, instead of Jesus Christ. How our adulation must have fed his ego.
Ditto, to Craig....we often blame it all on TWI, but how many of us fed the "beast" with our worship of man. I know that turned me off alot of the time, when people tripped over their own feet to please "leadership." There were times that I did it, so I am in no way judging anyone else. But the day I was told that my own "flesh and blood" (my brother) should not live with me, that because he would not take the class, I had to either move out or kick him out, was the last straw. Yes, it was a confrontation with the TWIG leader and the BRANCH coordinator. Me against them (at least that is what if felt like that night). Me and the TWIT coordinator and his wife and the BRANCH leader. All sitting in their living room and they had a list of grievences against me and proceeded to expound upon them one by one.
Know what? Brother is very successful now, because I chose him over TWI. From a full fledged alcholic and full time cocaine addict, he has now been manager of a local restaurant for over 5 years. Know what else. I have prospered more since I have been out of TWI than ever when I was in it.
Okay off topic, I know, but wanted to say this....
2-...- that the spiritual fight was among the ruling gift ministries in the body.
I can say amen to that; so what is the point of having them? They seem to be working for the adversary in this context. Why would God give them as 'gifts' to the body?
That's where TWI lost it.
TWI didn't lose it - - - they never had it. Dr. Drambuie was a scam.
Seems like with his zealous hunger for truth, unparalled love for God, and intense German work ethic, Dr. Wierscam could have handled some of these problems, but I guess he was too busy showing porn flicks at pajama parties. Biblical research my a**.
Outofthefog....nice sentiments, and I would be willing to seriously consider that as a possibility, however, I gotta tell you that as I understand it, from the folks that I have talked to that knew him..... vp was bending/breaking the rules all the way back to high school....his class mates rmember him as a real hell raiser...He was kicked out of his denomination for ahem *ministering* to his secretary, according to the locals....He really was a booger long before ANYONE was giving him adulation....
There was a damn good REASON why the good folks of NK never had any use for vpw or took him very seriously as a man of God....and it WASN`T because *a prophet is not without honor save in his own home town* (can`t remember the biblical quote exactly) like we were told.
Most of them knew he was a bit of a scoundrel.
I agree on one point... I think vp THOUGHT he wanted to be a mog...but only on HIS terms....the rules NEVER really applied to him...he was always above em.
As far as LCM .... anybody who DIDN`T kiss his royal hiney and give him the adulation he required was shown the door in short order.... sucking up was NOT an option if you wanted to remain safe in God`s ministry under his protection.
VPW and LCM both required from us that which wasn`t theirs to demand....both cleverly using our love for God and desire to be of service ... as the leverage to extort that which they had no right to.
To blame us for naievly believing them to be the ministers that they presented themselves to be.....
To blame us for the manipulation of the service,money, and lives that we selflessly offered to God into a means to sate the lusts and fill their bellies....is I think unfair.
I don`t think that one can mitigate the responsibility of vp and lcm or blame their lack of moral character and shortcomings on us for simply loving them a little too much...
that the spiritual fight was among the ruling gift ministries in the body.
I can say amen to that; so what is the point of having them?
Just because there is a spiritual fight going on doesn't mean the ministries always have to be losing.
I'm sorry now that at the time I was too punk to ask George Jess for specifics. He didn't give me any, but I could tell by his language that he was seriously concerned that the outcome might not be good. Back in '72 VPW hadn't yet taken over some of the hottest areas via his "Way Tree Revelation." Areas still weren't centralized as far as the money and the "authority" went - depending on when and where in '72. There were some wonderful ministries in operation at the time. The spiritual action was intense. There was no losing.
I was also impressed with how adeptly VPW walked by the spirit on a number of occasions back then & through the first half of the decade - you know, believe what you want.
I think he just got greedy. A combination of that and not trusting people to carry on faithfully following the lead of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe he never did quite get his thinking out of the old wineskin mentality to see what the church could keep doing if someone didn't think they needed to assume the position of the Lord Jesus. Heck, I don't know. Maybe he realized that people might not be faithful at following HIS agenda. After all, with more and more people showing up - how long could he go around without any clothes on without too many people noticing, so he had to cya with doctrine that rationalized his behaviors.
But I don't think he set out to consciously scam everybody. The human mind rationalizes our behavior. It's the nature of the thing. I think he really believed the doctrines he used to justify his behaviors. Anyway, that, & like I said, his greed - otherwise known as the love of power, you know - the root of all evil. I'm going to stop now - this is making me sick to my stomach.
Oh, before I go, I have to agree with rascal about not blaming the people for idolizing VP & other leadership. VP took over the place of Christ and taught people to do that. Besides, they made a regular practice of blaming the "common" folk for things that were their own fault - like the ruin of a move of God that never really had a chance to explode into what it could have been. "Leadership" has already dumped way more blame on people than they deserve.
Casting the dust off my feet - man, life is happening. How did we get onto this crud? Oh, that's right - I sent us there - Sheesh.
Interestingly I rarely heard the word "exorcism" used while in TWI except in reference to a verse or ,of course, the movie "The Exorcist".
This is what I remember from my way teachings. Also I don't necessarily believe
all of this any more - just pointing out what I recall.
Most of the time the activity of "casting out spirits" was part of "ministering" to someone during which the manifestations could reveal the presence of a spirit(s) and what to do about it (them). "word of knowledge", "word of wisdom", and "discerning of spirits" might all be employed to determine the correct
course of action for the given situation.
I recall being taught that an exorcism (as depicted by the movie) was an indication of
weakness and the activity of charlatans (priests). No "true son of god" would would have to bargain with the devil or chant rituals to get them to leave. Once a believer was instructed to cast out the spirit and he/she did it with authority then it was all supposed to be over very quickly.
Like in the cases where Jesus Christ expelled demons. There was rarely prolonged conversations. Of course there was the comment "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" in Matthew 17:21 that suggests that some preparation might be necessary. Still the expulsion by Jesus was instantaneous whereas the disciples couldn't help in that situation.
Interestingly I rarely heard the word "exorcism" used while in TWI
Right, diazbro,
Exorcism was taught as the Adversary's counterfeit casting out of spirits.
In foundational PFAL, the account in Acts 19:13 is used where the man in who had the spirit wasn't delivered of the spirit, but the spirit answered back. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you," and the scripture goes on to say "the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
Josephus talks about this rite of exorcism. Bullinger says that according to this rite one needed to either know the name of the devil spirit or invoke the name of a superior power or spirit to get the devil spirit out. The name invoked could be someone like Solomon or Abraham or it could be Jesus.
Solomon and Abraham are dead; there is no authority in their names. The idea according to Wierwille was that the whole thing about exorcism was counterfeit. If the spirit that was being invoked to cast out the spirit in the possessed man, a devil spirit, was more powerful than the one that was in the man, it would appear to work - the spirit would leave. God knows what happened to the poor man who was "delivered." He would, no doubt, be worse off than before - although his further degradation might take some time to show itself, the Adversary; thereby, making the rite of exorcism look legitimate.
However, if the spirit in the exorcist was NOT more powerful than the spirit in the possessed, then the spirit wouldn't leave. In the case in Acts and in PFAL "the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
Not a good outcome in anybody's book! But "this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified," showing that all the Jews and Greeks dwelling at Ephesus were not fooled by the Adversary's counterfeit of casting out of devils known as exorcism.
Well, at least THEY knew what was going on!! As a result, the whole thing about people coming & burning all their hookiepook bulldinkie doodle happened and the bottom line was "so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." Dang, might be worth putting forth the effort to understand what went down there.
Or not, you know, I'm just putting it down the way I understand it to have happened - just like you are.
I do have to say that the way I just laid it out is the way I think it really is.
WHATEVER!!!
Hey, a guy and a girl are sitting on a couch and one of them says, "You know what the trouble is between you and me? You're an approximist and I'm a perfectionist."
Thanks TH. After reading your post I do recall some of those references you made. Sounds familiar.
This thread has lead me to think about some other things
I hadn't considered in a while. An interesting idea about the devil and his minions is the concept that he is successful as a result of his secrecy. This was taught in the Dealing With The Adversary class but the concept predates TWI. I'd heard the idea mentioned when I was kid. Its also an idea which is famously detailed in C.S Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" wherein a senior demon provides a series of advice letters to a junior demon on how to capture souls. Sort of like a "Dear Abby" for demons.
It would be a particularly ingenious strategy. Get people to think of you as a inept comical figure in a red suit and a pitchfork. As long as they have this image of you then you are free to move about mostly undetected. On occasion the devil
could terrorize people by making his presence known in an obvious fashion and then quickly recede back into the shadows leaving those unfortunate souls to babble on about what they saw which might lead others to conclude that that person is totally nuts.
It would be quite a thing to explain to someone else.
For those who hold the more serious view of the devil its still frustrating because you might never be totally sure what human impulses and behavior are natural and which are authored or encouraged by satan. Even for the devout christian there is always some paranoia about this - "am I being tempted ?". Some
christians are not only vigilant about this they are hyper-vigilant which leads them to be "on guard" all the time. They
see dread, intrigues and spiritual plots everywhere. Worse they have to be "on guard" against their loved ones , the media, and even society at large. Its not wonder that some of these people are so wrapped up in mistrust and bitterness. you would be too if you thought that some "lion" was "waiting to devour you". This
outlook would not make for peaceful living.
On the other hand I've observed that the more grounded christians tend to focus on the postive aspects of the christian life. e.g. the accomplishments of christ and what it means in terms of personal liberation and destiny. They don't get bogged down in all the "devil talk" that so plagued the Way lifestyle. If you can believe what the bible has to say about the devil then you can also believe what it has to say about God. So there are many verses to support the concept that Christ delivered people and provided salvation which negates the devil's power. Why then does
the way focus on the power of satan to the point of obsession ?
Of course we now recognize that Way leaders talked so much about devil spirits as a method to instill fear and neutralize the common sense mechanisms. Keep people in fear and they will remain close to TWI and its teachings. It worked for quite a while.
As some people have pointed out , the Way's fascination with the devil could simply be a result of them following orders from their REAL leader....This assumes of course that you believe in such things.
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Tom
Yes, I do remember him. Way wack!
I do remember that, and I don't doubt that both of those propositions were true, but I don't think that the Adversary infiltrated our ranks in the person of poor little A*. The infiltration was a lot more widespread than that - it was freakin' systemic throughout TWI as far as I can see.
God bless, babe.
If I can help you ferret through any of this, I'll be glad to, but it is pretty comprehensive, pretty much what this website is all about - only from a spiritual persective. I'm not pretending that I have it all together in my head.
I remember riding with George Jess to the Advanced Class at HQ in '72, and he brought up Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And he asked me what I thought the Word meant when it said "high places."
Somewhere I had heard that it meant "from on high," but even as I said it, I thought my own answer was extremely unsatisfying. It doesn't mean a heck of a lot that God - or anybody - would take the time to insert those words.
He said it meant the upper echelons in the ministry - that the spiritual fight was among the ruling gift ministries in the body. We're all in this fight, but his remarks resonate more the longer I live. How high do you want to go - there is a serious fight going on there. That's where TWI lost it.
"PDSTRO had a line in one of their songs that went, "The nakedness is so real; keep your thoughts on love."
Love,
Tom
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TheInvisibleDan
That was incredibly insightful of George Jess, Tom. That "resonates" with me as true as well.
Was Jess one of the original trustees - or am I confusing him with someone else?
good stuff.
Thank you.
Danny
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Oakspear
Jess was the first Way Corps Director, Ermal Owens may be who you're thinking of
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TheInvisibleDan
I thought it was one of those "higher up" names I've heard in the past. One who was in a position to know (almost twi version of "Deep Throat", lol). Jess sounded like he had his act together, in contrast to that later "Corp. director".
Danny
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Linda Z
George Jess was an incredible man. Humble, wise, loving, and so peaceful.
Thanks for telling us about that conversation, Tom. Boy, what he said sure does make sense.
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outofdafog
This makes a lot of sense to me. See, this is the kind of story that makes me wonder, there were so many wonderful people in TWI who truly loved God and his Word. How did things get so "****ered" up. Ego? of the upper echelon? It had to be, because I personally believe that Doc Vic (praise be his name) started out as truly wanting to be a teacher of "the truth" but somewhere along the way, the "ego" and "adulation" of his followers caused him to go astray. Perhaps, some of this is "our collective" fault for putting so much of our faith (and/or) believing in a man, instead of Jesus Christ. How our adulation must have fed his ego.
Ditto, to Craig....we often blame it all on TWI, but how many of us fed the "beast" with our worship of man. I know that turned me off alot of the time, when people tripped over their own feet to please "leadership." There were times that I did it, so I am in no way judging anyone else. But the day I was told that my own "flesh and blood" (my brother) should not live with me, that because he would not take the class, I had to either move out or kick him out, was the last straw. Yes, it was a confrontation with the TWIG leader and the BRANCH coordinator. Me against them (at least that is what if felt like that night). Me and the TWIT coordinator and his wife and the BRANCH leader. All sitting in their living room and they had a list of grievences against me and proceeded to expound upon them one by one.
Know what? Brother is very successful now, because I chose him over TWI. From a full fledged alcholic and full time cocaine addict, he has now been manager of a local restaurant for over 5 years. Know what else. I have prospered more since I have been out of TWI than ever when I was in it.
Okay off topic, I know, but wanted to say this....
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WeWereScammed
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rascal
Outofthefog....nice sentiments, and I would be willing to seriously consider that as a possibility, however, I gotta tell you that as I understand it, from the folks that I have talked to that knew him..... vp was bending/breaking the rules all the way back to high school....his class mates rmember him as a real hell raiser...He was kicked out of his denomination for ahem *ministering* to his secretary, according to the locals....He really was a booger long before ANYONE was giving him adulation....
There was a damn good REASON why the good folks of NK never had any use for vpw or took him very seriously as a man of God....and it WASN`T because *a prophet is not without honor save in his own home town* (can`t remember the biblical quote exactly) like we were told.
Most of them knew he was a bit of a scoundrel.
I agree on one point... I think vp THOUGHT he wanted to be a mog...but only on HIS terms....the rules NEVER really applied to him...he was always above em.
As far as LCM .... anybody who DIDN`T kiss his royal hiney and give him the adulation he required was shown the door in short order.... sucking up was NOT an option if you wanted to remain safe in God`s ministry under his protection.
VPW and LCM both required from us that which wasn`t theirs to demand....both cleverly using our love for God and desire to be of service ... as the leverage to extort that which they had no right to.
To blame us for naievly believing them to be the ministers that they presented themselves to be.....
To blame us for the manipulation of the service,money, and lives that we selflessly offered to God into a means to sate the lusts and fill their bellies....is I think unfair.
I don`t think that one can mitigate the responsibility of vp and lcm or blame their lack of moral character and shortcomings on us for simply loving them a little too much...
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Tom
Just because there is a spiritual fight going on doesn't mean the ministries always have to be losing.
I'm sorry now that at the time I was too punk to ask George Jess for specifics. He didn't give me any, but I could tell by his language that he was seriously concerned that the outcome might not be good. Back in '72 VPW hadn't yet taken over some of the hottest areas via his "Way Tree Revelation." Areas still weren't centralized as far as the money and the "authority" went - depending on when and where in '72. There were some wonderful ministries in operation at the time. The spiritual action was intense. There was no losing.
I was also impressed with how adeptly VPW walked by the spirit on a number of occasions back then & through the first half of the decade - you know, believe what you want.
I think he just got greedy. A combination of that and not trusting people to carry on faithfully following the lead of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe he never did quite get his thinking out of the old wineskin mentality to see what the church could keep doing if someone didn't think they needed to assume the position of the Lord Jesus. Heck, I don't know. Maybe he realized that people might not be faithful at following HIS agenda. After all, with more and more people showing up - how long could he go around without any clothes on without too many people noticing, so he had to cya with doctrine that rationalized his behaviors.
But I don't think he set out to consciously scam everybody. The human mind rationalizes our behavior. It's the nature of the thing. I think he really believed the doctrines he used to justify his behaviors. Anyway, that, & like I said, his greed - otherwise known as the love of power, you know - the root of all evil. I'm going to stop now - this is making me sick to my stomach.
Oh, before I go, I have to agree with rascal about not blaming the people for idolizing VP & other leadership. VP took over the place of Christ and taught people to do that. Besides, they made a regular practice of blaming the "common" folk for things that were their own fault - like the ruin of a move of God that never really had a chance to explode into what it could have been. "Leadership" has already dumped way more blame on people than they deserve.
Casting the dust off my feet - man, life is happening. How did we get onto this crud? Oh, that's right - I sent us there - Sheesh.
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diazbro
Interestingly I rarely heard the word "exorcism" used while in TWI except in reference to a verse or ,of course, the movie "The Exorcist".
This is what I remember from my way teachings. Also I don't necessarily believe
all of this any more - just pointing out what I recall.
Most of the time the activity of "casting out spirits" was part of "ministering" to someone during which the manifestations could reveal the presence of a spirit(s) and what to do about it (them). "word of knowledge", "word of wisdom", and "discerning of spirits" might all be employed to determine the correct
course of action for the given situation.
I recall being taught that an exorcism (as depicted by the movie) was an indication of
weakness and the activity of charlatans (priests). No "true son of god" would would have to bargain with the devil or chant rituals to get them to leave. Once a believer was instructed to cast out the spirit and he/she did it with authority then it was all supposed to be over very quickly.
Like in the cases where Jesus Christ expelled demons. There was rarely prolonged conversations. Of course there was the comment "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" in Matthew 17:21 that suggests that some preparation might be necessary. Still the expulsion by Jesus was instantaneous whereas the disciples couldn't help in that situation.
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Tom
Right, diazbro,
Exorcism was taught as the Adversary's counterfeit casting out of spirits.
In foundational PFAL, the account in Acts 19:13 is used where the man in who had the spirit wasn't delivered of the spirit, but the spirit answered back. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you," and the scripture goes on to say "the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
Josephus talks about this rite of exorcism. Bullinger says that according to this rite one needed to either know the name of the devil spirit or invoke the name of a superior power or spirit to get the devil spirit out. The name invoked could be someone like Solomon or Abraham or it could be Jesus.
Solomon and Abraham are dead; there is no authority in their names. The idea according to Wierwille was that the whole thing about exorcism was counterfeit. If the spirit that was being invoked to cast out the spirit in the possessed man, a devil spirit, was more powerful than the one that was in the man, it would appear to work - the spirit would leave. God knows what happened to the poor man who was "delivered." He would, no doubt, be worse off than before - although his further degradation might take some time to show itself, the Adversary; thereby, making the rite of exorcism look legitimate.
However, if the spirit in the exorcist was NOT more powerful than the spirit in the possessed, then the spirit wouldn't leave. In the case in Acts and in PFAL "the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
Not a good outcome in anybody's book! But "this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified," showing that all the Jews and Greeks dwelling at Ephesus were not fooled by the Adversary's counterfeit of casting out of devils known as exorcism.
Well, at least THEY knew what was going on!! As a result, the whole thing about people coming & burning all their hookiepook bulldinkie doodle happened and the bottom line was "so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." Dang, might be worth putting forth the effort to understand what went down there.
Or not, you know, I'm just putting it down the way I understand it to have happened - just like you are.
I do have to say that the way I just laid it out is the way I think it really is.
WHATEVER!!!
Hey, a guy and a girl are sitting on a couch and one of them says, "You know what the trouble is between you and me? You're an approximist and I'm a perfectionist."
The other responds, "Whatever!"
And the other, "Exactly!"
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diazbro
Thanks TH. After reading your post I do recall some of those references you made. Sounds familiar.
This thread has lead me to think about some other things
I hadn't considered in a while. An interesting idea about the devil and his minions is the concept that he is successful as a result of his secrecy. This was taught in the Dealing With The Adversary class but the concept predates TWI. I'd heard the idea mentioned when I was kid. Its also an idea which is famously detailed in C.S Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" wherein a senior demon provides a series of advice letters to a junior demon on how to capture souls. Sort of like a "Dear Abby" for demons.
It would be a particularly ingenious strategy. Get people to think of you as a inept comical figure in a red suit and a pitchfork. As long as they have this image of you then you are free to move about mostly undetected. On occasion the devil
could terrorize people by making his presence known in an obvious fashion and then quickly recede back into the shadows leaving those unfortunate souls to babble on about what they saw which might lead others to conclude that that person is totally nuts.
It would be quite a thing to explain to someone else.
For those who hold the more serious view of the devil its still frustrating because you might never be totally sure what human impulses and behavior are natural and which are authored or encouraged by satan. Even for the devout christian there is always some paranoia about this - "am I being tempted ?". Some
christians are not only vigilant about this they are hyper-vigilant which leads them to be "on guard" all the time. They
see dread, intrigues and spiritual plots everywhere. Worse they have to be "on guard" against their loved ones , the media, and even society at large. Its not wonder that some of these people are so wrapped up in mistrust and bitterness. you would be too if you thought that some "lion" was "waiting to devour you". This
outlook would not make for peaceful living.
On the other hand I've observed that the more grounded christians tend to focus on the postive aspects of the christian life. e.g. the accomplishments of christ and what it means in terms of personal liberation and destiny. They don't get bogged down in all the "devil talk" that so plagued the Way lifestyle. If you can believe what the bible has to say about the devil then you can also believe what it has to say about God. So there are many verses to support the concept that Christ delivered people and provided salvation which negates the devil's power. Why then does
the way focus on the power of satan to the point of obsession ?
Of course we now recognize that Way leaders talked so much about devil spirits as a method to instill fear and neutralize the common sense mechanisms. Keep people in fear and they will remain close to TWI and its teachings. It worked for quite a while.
As some people have pointed out , the Way's fascination with the devil could simply be a result of them following orders from their REAL leader....This assumes of course that you believe in such things.
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